MATRIXSYNTH

via this auction

Update: group buy at electro-music.com

"This is a PCB to build the famous Gristleizer. Used by the industrial band Throbbing Gristle and many later experimental bands, the Gristleizer is a complex, but simple to build, effect.

It's a filter and a tremolo, controlled by an LFO, or low frequency oscillator. Here are some soundclips to help explain what it sounds like:

Using guitar. First clean, then with the Gristelizer on
Using synths and other effects [video below]

The board is carefully laid out to be easy to build. The part values are all listed on board, and there is an option to board-mount the pots. Included with the board is a wiring diagram for the off-board parts, as well as a bill of materials, and a set of build notes, instructions for tweaking and modding.

This is a bit more complex of a build than a fuzz pedal, so if you have never built any effects before, you may want to start with something a little simpler. Anyone with a little experience building effects should be able to build this fairly quickly and get great results."

Update: To be clear, the following videos are of the Smashing Guitars Gristleizer and not this DIY PCB. Results may vary.

Sold For: US $19.00

King Tut Plays the Gristleizer built by Endangered Audio

YouTube via keepyourkings

"The Gristleizer is born again! Made famous by Throbbing Gristle, raised on high again by Endangered Audio, a small, hand-built pedal company out of Asheville, North Carolina, The Gristleizer is the beastiest effects unit you've ever laid eyes on. Can also be used as a sound generator/synth of sorts, as you will see. For more info, go to: http://tinyurl.com/thegristleizerpres..." Be sure to see this post on the history of the Gristleizer

Update: via Taylor in this electro-music.com thread [linked above]:

"Hi guys, I'm not super-active on this forum, so please let me know if this is not where this belongs. I've designed a PCB for the infamous Gristleizer. This was designed in the 70s by Roy Gwinn and used most famously (and named by/for) the industrial band Throbbing Gristle. The circuit is an LFO with square, triangle, up ramp and down ramp waveforms, and a FET-controlled VCA and VCF. For the guitar guys I explain that more in depth but I assume you synth guys know what all of that is, right? The board is 3.3 x 2.1 inches (approx. 81 x 53 mm) and includes the option to board-mount pots. It includes a charge pump to derive -9v from a +9v supply. This is useful for building this as a tabletop or rack unit that will run off a standard single-sided 9v supply, but for modular use you can of course use your own bipolar supply. The board has been built and verified as working. I'm not positive how to estimate a difficulty rating for synth builders. It is a fairly small circuit, certainly in comparison to the gargantuan PCBs elsewhere on this forum, so it should be a quick and easy build. The board has black soldermask with white silkscreen, and all the parts and pads are labeled clearly on board. The boards are $12. Shipping within the US is $2 for one board and 50 cents for each additional board. Shipping to the UK and Europe is $4 for one board and 50 cents for each additional board. Other countries, contact me for a shipping quote. To order, send the total to taylorlivingston |at| yahoo |dot| com, and please indicate that it's for Gristleizer boards, how many, and your username at this forum. The wiring diagram with bill of materials and notes is here."

Update 12/10/2009: via Smashing Guitars in the comments:

"Hi this is Mark Boyd from Endangered Audio/King Tut/the video you have on your site. While we don't have any issue with you using our video to advertise your PCB, we would like you to make it clear that we a) your version likely sounds different than ours b) our PCB fixes the ticking problem without changing its sound c) our LFO has a wider speed sweep and the bias has a wider range as well. We have just dropped the price of our PCB and are working on a price for a full kit. http://www.smashingguitarsasheville.com That being said, in response to what has just been said in the comments, it sounds as if our PCB is less "modded" than this one as we did not change the LFO or the audio path. Also our version is the only one sanctioned by both Roy Gwinn and Throbbing Gristle. That being said, good luck with your builds! We don't want to cramp the DIY'ing out there in the least, we'd just like to make those important facts clear so the people who are going in for your PCB group buy know what they're getting into. Thanks, Mark any more questions email to endangeredaudio@gmail.com PS: that video isn't the greatest for getting the real sound of the Gristleizer by itself. check out these ones and let us know what you think!"

Gristleizer Stompbox With MicroKorg

YouTube via keepyourkings

"This is the official Gristleizer Stompbox demo from Endangered Audio. Based in Asheville, NC, Endangered Audio recreated an effect unit built by Roy Gwinn in the 70s and popularized by the band Throbbing Gristle. Here, Mark Boyd of King Tut runs the Gristleizer all sorts of ways through, around, and by a MicroKorg synthesizer. The three versions of the Gristleizer now available from Endangered audio include the stompbox, the tabletop, and the pc board. Go to http://smashingguitarsasheville.com/e... to check them out!"

The Gristleizer Guitar & Organ Demo by King Tut

"This is a demo song featuring the Gristleizer. The Gristleizer was designed by a young Roy Gwinn in the early 70s and popularized by the band Throbbing Gristle. This song by King Tut features the Gristleizer in many different ways. The only instruments not being run through the Gristleizer are the drums and bass. The Gristleizer is 100% analog, hand-built, and made in America."

YouTube via manufacturedZ3R0
"This is a hinghon keyboard paired up with a casio VL1. The hinghon is hooked up to a sequencer which can be used to set 8 step patterns using the rorary selectors to assign different drums to each step. It has overdrive and pitch control. The driver for the sequencer also runs an LFO (lfo1) which can be routed to both the hinghon and the vl1. Good for syncing up the leads sounds from the vl to thew drum sequencer. There is a second lfo routed to the vl1 which allows you to set it's pitch modulation to free run. The sequencer driver also connects to a drone switch which when activated will switch on a note repeat on the hinghon. The vl 1 also has it's own pitch, lfo depth and drone distortion controls."

MATRIXSYNTH

Thursday, December 03, 2009

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